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| Photo credit: pni via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA |
Don't get me wrong, I love a good "quicker picker upper." With pets, a baby, and a tendency to spill things often, having something easily accessible to clean up messes is a must for me. And how great are paper towels? Just tear off what you need, clean up your mess, and toss - oh so - effortlessly. Many other people think so too considering the average person uses 45 lbs. of paper towels per year.
We love our disposable paper products. Paper waste accounts for over 25% of total landfill waste.
We love our disposable paper products. Paper waste accounts for over 25% of total landfill waste.
When I ran my "30 Days to Zero Waste" Challenge on Instagram and Facebook, I was surprised to see that overall, that tip raised the most resistance and had the most questions. So many in fact, that I felt that a dedicated post was due to answer everything and give everyone some reference material.
What was the number one hurdle?
Significant Others
Many of you stressed that you'd love to kick the paper towel obsession but your SOs wouldn't do it. I can help you with this one - for the record, I'm asking my own husband's advice!
- Show them the money savings. From personal experience, our household saves $100-$200 a year now that we do not purchase paper towels. And no, adding small rags to your existing loads of laundry isn't going to cost you more money in water - I've compared our usages.
- Stop buying them. Everyone in the house will have to use cloth if the paper towels have disappeared.
- Simply communicate that you'd like to give this a try and that cutting waste is important to you. Come on now, couple support! :) At the very least, ask them to just give it a try.
Here were some additional questions that you had...
"I live with roommates who will not switch - but I have"
Try making the rags more conveniently located than the paper towels. If the clean rags are conveniently on the counters and the paper towels are in the pantry - hidden somewhere - you might get some converters!
"What about cleaning the bathroom and wiping up all that gross hair?"
I personally sweep all of the bits with a small hand broom, then spray down my bathroom with my homemade cleaning solution and wipe clean.
"Do I have to purchase additional rags or make my own?"
That is completely up to you but I would suggest saving your money - I mean - they're just rags. I personally use old wash rags because they are very absorbent. You can also take holey socks or rip up stained or torn t-shirts.
"What do you do when you are at work or in a public restroom?"
I always have a cloth napkin on me on the go. Avoiding waste is all about being prepared. If I don't have a cloth on me I simply shake them dry.
"What do you do for cleaning up greasy or oily messes?"
I first sprinkle baking soda on the mess so that it absorbs the liquid, then I wipe clean.
"How many rags do I need for a family of 2 and a puppy?"
My rule of thumb is 3-5 per person/pet. Including pets I have a household of 10 so about 30 rags. Just a personal preference - it works perfectly for us.
"But cleaning up pet vomit - with cloth?"
Absolutely! And here's why - not even a waste reason - with paper towels, my fingers always seemed to poke through to the dark side. Yuck. With cloth, that doesn't happen. I wipe up the mess, my fingers stay clean, I shake off the particulates outside, and throw the rag into the wash. Easy.
"How do you drain oily food?"
On a baking rack that is on top of a baking sheet. Drains more oil that paper towels - and you know what that means - crispier potato chips!
Did I cover everything? I promise you, switching to cloth isn't so scary. Just try it for little bit to test it out. I bet a lot of you will never switch back!
Do you have other questions regarding switching to paper towels? If so, comment below!
I personally sweep all of the bits with a small hand broom, then spray down my bathroom with my homemade cleaning solution and wipe clean.
"Do I have to purchase additional rags or make my own?"
That is completely up to you but I would suggest saving your money - I mean - they're just rags. I personally use old wash rags because they are very absorbent. You can also take holey socks or rip up stained or torn t-shirts.
"What do you do when you are at work or in a public restroom?"
I always have a cloth napkin on me on the go. Avoiding waste is all about being prepared. If I don't have a cloth on me I simply shake them dry.
"What do you do for cleaning up greasy or oily messes?"
I first sprinkle baking soda on the mess so that it absorbs the liquid, then I wipe clean.
"How many rags do I need for a family of 2 and a puppy?"
My rule of thumb is 3-5 per person/pet. Including pets I have a household of 10 so about 30 rags. Just a personal preference - it works perfectly for us.
"But cleaning up pet vomit - with cloth?"
Absolutely! And here's why - not even a waste reason - with paper towels, my fingers always seemed to poke through to the dark side. Yuck. With cloth, that doesn't happen. I wipe up the mess, my fingers stay clean, I shake off the particulates outside, and throw the rag into the wash. Easy.
"How do you drain oily food?"
On a baking rack that is on top of a baking sheet. Drains more oil that paper towels - and you know what that means - crispier potato chips!
Did I cover everything? I promise you, switching to cloth isn't so scary. Just try it for little bit to test it out. I bet a lot of you will never switch back!
Do you have other questions regarding switching to paper towels? If so, comment below!